The Superior Courthouse in Morristown.Robert Sciarrino/ The Star-Ledger

MORRISTOWN — A former employee at a Rockaway Township massage parlor was given a suspended sentence and placed on probation today for inappropriately touching a female client in June 2011.

Michael Halstead, 23, of Hawley, Pa., who worked at Massage Envy, pleaded guilty in March to a charge of criminal sexual contact and agreed not to seek a massage therapist’s license in New Jersey.

A complaint filed against Halstead in Superior Court said he put his hand down the underwear of the 44-year-old woman about an hour into a two-hour massage.

Superior Court Judge Mary Gibbons Whipple, sitting in Morristown, noted that Halstead received “tremendous support from his family and community” in the form of letters that attested to his character and asked that he not be incarcerated.

Whipple said it was “a serious offense and had a serious effect on the victim,” but said Halstead “hadn’t done this kind of thing before.”

Whipple placed Halstead on probation for three years and gave him a 90-day suspended jail sentence that he would have to serve if he violates terms of his probation.

Morris County Assistant Prosecutor LaJuan Tucker had sought a 90-day jail term for Halstead. She read a statement from the victim saying that since the incident happened, she is “afraid of being alone,” she has headaches and stomachaches and her hair has been falling out.

“I can’t trust anyone, especially a man,” the victim said.

Addressing the court, Halstead said he is “sorry” about the incident and promised “it will never happen again.”

Halstead’s attorney, James Maynard, had argued his client “is already doing everything probation could want of him” by working seven days a week at three jobs, including serving as a tennis instructor. Incarceration would “interrupt” the progress he has been making, Maynard said.